Why Me, Lord? Moses and Obedience to God's Call

Devotional

Day 1: Burning Bushes and Reluctant Hearts

God’s call often arrives in unexpected moments, like a bush aflame yet unconsumed. Moses stood before this divine interruption, wrestling with the tension between his inadequacy and God’s insistence. Resistance to God’s call begins when we fixate on our limitations rather than His presence. The burning bush symbolizes holy urgency—a reminder that God’s plans are not contingent on human readiness. He meets us in our hesitation, not to condemn, but to commission. Trust begins when we shift our gaze from “Who am I?” to “Who is with me?” [39:01]

Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey… Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” (Exodus 3:7–10, ESV)

Reflection: Where is God inviting you to step into a “burning bush” moment this week? What hesitation do you need to surrender to His “I will be with you”?

Day 2: The Name That Answers Every Doubt

Moses demanded credentials: “What if they ask Your name?” God replied with a revelation of His eternal identity—I AM. This name transcends human authority, answering every insecurity about legitimacy or outcome. To carry God’s name is to walk in the assurance that His character backs every assignment. When we feel unqualified, we are not called to prove ourselves but to proclaim His sufficiency. The I AM never sends us out alone. [42:07]

God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” (Exodus 3:14, ESV)

Reflection: What situation feels too heavy for you to navigate alone? How might declaring “I AM is with me” reshape your perspective today?

Day 3: Staffs, Snakes, and Trusting the Signs

God turned Moses’ shepherd staff into a snake—a visceral reminder that ordinary tools become extraordinary in His hands. The signs were not about convincing others but about strengthening Moses’ trust. Miracles often follow obedience, not precede it. Our “staffs”—daily skills, relationships, or resources—are meant to be surrendered, not clutched in fear. What seems mundane becomes miraculous when placed in the I AM’s grip. [45:33]

The Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And He said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent. (Exodus 4:2–3, ESV)

Reflection: What “staff” are you holding onto that God might be asking you to release? How could its surrender become a sign of His power?

Day 4: Stammering Mouths and Sovereign Hands

Moses protested, “I am slow of speech”—a complaint met with God’s gentle rebuke. The Creator of mouths requires no eloquence, only availability. Our weaknesses are not obstacles but opportunities for God’s strength to shine. A stuttering tongue becomes a trumpet of truth when yielded to the One who spoke galaxies into being. What we lack is the very space where His sufficiency floods in. [48:08]

The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:11–12, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel most inadequate for God’s calling? How might His promise to “be with your mouth” transform that insecurity?

Day 5: When “Send Someone Else” Meets “I Will Send You”

Moses’ final plea—“Send someone else”—reveals the heart of resistance: preferring comfort over commission. Yet God’s response mingles grace with urgency, providing Aaron while maintaining Moses’ responsibility. Obedience is not negated by assistance. Our reluctance cannot derail God’s purposes, but it can forfeit the joy of participating fully. The call remains: will we cling to safety or embrace the adventure of being sent? [49:55]

Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses, and He said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother? I know that he can speak well… You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth.” (Exodus 4:14–15, ESV)

Reflection: What “send someone else” prayer have you whispered lately? How might God be inviting you to lean into His provision rather than retreat?

Sermon Summary

Exodus chapter 3 brings Moses back to the place where God’s call becomes personal. God has surely seen the affliction of his people, heard their cry, known their sufferings, and come down to deliver them. The text makes clear that God is not distant from Egypt, not deaf to bondage, and not confused about oppression. God’s plan is to deliver Israel by his own power, but he chooses to work through Moses.

Moses receives that call with hesitation. God says, “Come, I will send you to Pharaoh,” and Moses answers with the same kind of pushbacks that rise up in ordinary believers. Moses asks, “Who am I?” and God answers, “I will be with you.” The call is not built on Moses being enough. The call rests on God being present.

Moses then asks about authority. The people may ask who sent him, and God gives the name that settles the matter: “I am who I am.” The great I Am sends Moses, and the sovereignty of God overcomes every lack of power Moses feels. Moses is not stepping into Egypt as an independent contractor. Moses is representing the King of kings.

Moses then fears rejection. “They will not believe me,” he says. God gives signs, the staff becoming a serpent, the leprous hand restored, and the water of the Nile turned to blood. The point is not that Moses can manage outcomes. The point is that obedience belongs to Moses, and results belong to God.

Moses then points to his inability to speak. God answers with a question that cuts through the excuse: “Who has made man’s mouth?” Moses may be slow of speech and tongue, but God will be with his mouth and teach him what to say. When God calls, weakness does not limit God’s power. Often weakness becomes the very place where God shows his strength.

Moses finally says what resistance often wants to say: “Please send someone else.” God’s anger is kindled, yet God still provides Aaron and keeps his purpose moving. The call of God is bigger than comfort, inadequacy does not cancel calling, doubts do not surprise God, weakness does not limit God, and resistance does not change God’s purpose. When God is calling someone to something bigger than self, the right focus is not whether that person is enough. The right focus is whether God is with that person, because God is enough.

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Key Takeaways

1. God’s call is not a signup sheet. God’s call to Moses was not a general request for volunteers, but a direct command from the Lord who had already seen, heard, and come down to deliver. The call of God does not wait until a person feels brave, gifted, or ready. The only faithful answer to the command of God is surrender, because the authority belongs to the One who sends. [37:54]
2. Presence answers the fear of inadequacy. Moses asked, “Who am I?” and God did not give Moses a self-esteem speech. God answered, “I will be with you,” because the issue was never Moses’ greatness but God’s nearness. Inadequacy becomes spiritually dangerous when it turns the call of God into a question about human sufficiency instead of divine presence. [39:40]
3. Obedience belongs to the called. Moses feared that people would not believe him, and God gave signs to show that outcomes were in divine hands. Faithfulness does not require controlling another person’s response. Obedience plants the seed, speaks the truth in love, and trusts God with the harvest or the rejection. [46:32]
4. Weakness can reveal God’s power. Moses’ slow speech did not surprise the God who made the mouth. A real limitation is not the same thing as a valid excuse when God has spoken. God often chooses the place of weakness so that dependence grows deeper and glory lands where it belongs. [48:24]
5. Resistance does not cancel God’s purpose. Moses finally asked God to send someone else, and the anger of the Lord was kindled. God still provided Aaron, but Moses’ resistance was not treated as a harmless personality trait. Refusal to cooperate with God’s direction is disobedience, and God’s work will move forward with or without human comfort.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[23:08] - Opening Greetings and Church Life
[25:21] - Family Groups and Christian Community
[26:48] - Upcoming Events and Opportunities
[28:25] - Exodus 3 and the Summer Sojourn
[29:28] - Moses: Why Me, Lord?
[33:33] - God Hears Israel’s Cry
[36:52] - God Calls Moses to Go
[38:41] - Pushback One: Who Am I?
[41:10] - Pushback Two: Who Sent Me?
[44:04] - Pushback Three: Who Will Believe Me?
[47:48] - Pushback Four: I Can’t Speak
[49:27] - Pushback Five: Send Someone Else
[50:41] - When God Calls, Comfort Is Not Lord
[54:17] - God Is Enough for the Calling

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Exodus 3:7-10
Then the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” [33:33]

Exodus 3:11-12
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” [38:41]

Exodus 3:13-14
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” [41:10]

Exodus 4:1-9
Then Moses answered, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you.’” The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.” And he said, “Throw it on the ground.” So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, “Put out your hand and catch it by the tail”—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand— “that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you.” Again, the LORD said to him, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” And he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous like snow. Then God said, “Put your hand back inside your cloak.” So he put his hand back inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, it was restored like the rest of his flesh. “If they will not believe you,” God said, “or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” [44:04]

Exodus 4:10-12
But Moses said to the LORD, “Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.” Then the LORD said to him, “Who has made man's mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” [47:48]

Exodus 4:13-16
But he said, “Oh, my Lord, please send someone else.” Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, “Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him.” [49:27]

Observation questions

In Exodus 3:7-10, what specific words show how personally God is involved in Israel’s suffering, and what does God say he is about to do about it? [33:33]
Moses gives several pushbacks in these passages. What are the different concerns he raises, and how does each one sound a little different from the others? [38:41]
In Exodus 4:1-9, what signs does God give Moses, and what do those signs seem meant to address in Moses’ fear? [44:04]
In Exodus 4:13-16, how does God respond when Moses finally says, “Please send someone else,” and what help does God provide anyway? [49:27]

Interpretation questions

God answers Moses’ “Who am I?” with “I will be with you.” What does that reveal about how God normally deals with feelings of inadequacy? [39:40]
God names himself “I AM WHO I AM.” How would that have strengthened Moses when he felt weak, uncertain, or lacking authority? [41:10]
God gives signs when Moses fears people will not believe him. What does that suggest about the difference between Moses’ responsibility and God’s responsibility in the mission? [46:32]
God does not accept “Please send someone else” as a harmless excuse. What does this passage show about the seriousness of resisting clear direction from God? [50:21]

Application questions

Many believers know what it is like to sense a nudge from God and then begin listing reasons not to obey. What kind of “Who am I?” response shows up most often in this season of life for you? [29:33]
God’s call is bigger than comfort. Where might comfort be quietly shaping your decisions more than obedience right now—in serving, speaking up, reconciling, giving, or stepping into a hard conversation? [50:41]
Obedience belongs to the called, and results belong to God. Is there a person, situation, or step of faith where you have been delaying obedience because you are afraid of how others will respond? [46:32]
Weakness does not limit God’s power. What is one limitation you are most tempted to use as an excuse, and what would it look like to place that weakness in God’s hands instead? [48:24]
God often calls people into things that feel bigger than they are. Looking back, when have you seen God meet you in something that you did not feel ready for at all? [54:17]
Resistance does not change God’s purpose. Is there any area where “please send someone else” has been the quiet attitude of the heart, even if the words were never spoken out loud? [49:27]
The right focus is not whether a person is enough, but whether God is with that person. What would change this week if that became the main lens through which you viewed your calling, responsibilities, and fears? [54:17]

Sermon Clips

53s

#GodIsEnough

“``Here's a statement I wanna kinda close with. When God is calling you to something bigger than yourself, and he will, and he has. Don't focus on whether you are enough. Focus on whether God is with you. And we could put a parenthetical phrase after that because God is enough. Is God in it? That's the only thing we need to worry about. If God's in it, he will equip us, he will put the people around us, he will do whatever he needs to do to get it done. And there may be times when we go out in God's grace and we go out in God's direction, and we may fail. But all of that has a purpose too.”

50s

#GodIsWithYou

“If you don't feel alone, if you feel like that someone is in your corner, you have a lot of strength behind you you feel like. And so Moses was expressing that kind of thing. Who am I? Why why would you call me? And God says, I will be with you. So if God calls you to something, he is going to be with you through it. He's never gonna leave you alone. God's calling is not about who we are, but it's about who he is and what he wants to do in our lives. Because what happens is when we resist God's call, we have then made it about ourselves. Who am I? Doesn't matter. I am with you, God says.”

40s

#CalledNotQualified

“Secondly, when God calls, our inadequacy doesn't cancel God's calling. I'm not good enough is not the right response. I'm not equipped for that is a terrible response. Are you saying that God made a mistake? God may use this calling to reveal his strength through you like never ever before And help you to grow in his grace. And help you to grow in your dependence upon him, which is good. We are not to become independent contractors. We are to become dependent servants of the most high God.”

51s

#CalledBeyondComfort

“refusal to cooperate with God's directive is disobedience, which is sin. That's what it comes down to. So let me bring this to a head with our life points. Real personal now. Real personal. Because this may have struck a nerve with some of us today. When God calls, first of all, when God calls, God's call is bigger than our comfort. don't like to think about it as being comfort, but it really is when we are rejecting for all these reasons, and God is really calling us. If comfort is our goal, then we've made God's work about ourselves.”

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